Chieftains take shape

CHELMSFORD, UK – Head Coach Dean Birrell is setting his stall out early with a large portion of his 2010-11 squad announced in the last few weeks. First up, after Birrell himself, was netminder Ben Clements who shone last season as the de facto starting goalie due to a combination of reasons. Clements ended last season with a save % of around the 91.5% mark, which is none to shabby by anyone’s standard.

Following hot on the heels of Clements was the unexpected return of former captain Tom Long. Rumours abound in British ice hockey during the off season like no-one’s business, but Long to Chelmsford was barely mentioned. However, he was hotly tipped to go to a number of EPL sides, so it was a pleasant surprise for the Chieftains faithful when he put pen to paper for next season. Long was captain of the Chieftains in their final EPL season in 2007-08, before spending time on the Isle of Wight with the Raiders and then moved slightly closer to home with a season in Basingstoke Bison colours.
A short break of 4 days separated Long’s announcement before the next returnee was confirmed as last season’s leading penalty minute leader, Nathanael “BT” Williams. BT is a fan favourite in Chelmsford mainly for his no nonsense style of hockey, as well as his willingness to drop the gloves at any given moment. This is Williams’ 4^th consecutive season for the Chieftains, which is testament to the appeal of playing in Chelmsford for non-Chelmsford trained players. On top of that, his band “Don’t Wait Animate” are getting rave reviews in the UK as one of the up and coming bands around, with their first single ‘6174’ available on iTunes at the moment.
Next up to sign on the dotted line was defenceman Alex Green. Green only returned to the sport last season after a year out to pursue other interests, and what a return it was for the young man. Green looked a little shaky to start with, as expected, but grew into an integral defenceman and stopped many-a-goal with his last ditch diving poke checks and his positional play was not unnoticed by an appreciative Chieftains crowd.
Next to sign was “Mr Intensity” Ross Brears. Brears rarely smiles on matchnights, but this isn’t down to being a miserable so and so, but more to do with his concentration and commitment to his teammates and the cause. Brears averaged over a point a season last year and ended up with 23+25 over the course of the league season, which was cut short by injury.
On the day the Romford Raiders announced they were joining the ENL, the second bout of bad news hit the RVW fans as it was revealed the latest signing by the Chieftains was the Raiders’ Supporters Player, Players Player and Management’s Player of the season Matt Turner. Turner came through the Chelmsford junior system, but a combination of reasons meant he left a few seasons back and became a popular player at Romford, but was tempted back to the Riverside by the chance to play for Dean Birrell and his hometown team.
The following day and it was ‘D-Day’ as both Danny Hammond and Danny Wright confirmed their intention to be Chieftains players for the 2010-11 season. Hammond led the scoring for the Chieftains last season with 74 points in 35 games, broken down as 42+32. Hammond was always likely to stay at the Riverside and the chance to be a central part of the club’s push for the ENL1S title was all it took for Hammond to sign on.
Danny Wright is ‘Mr Chelmsford’ and his signing delighted the Chieftains fans as he is one of the most popular players at the Riverside amongst the fans, and he is a none too shabby player either. An offensive minded defenceman who always seemed to pop up in the right place at the right time to get shots on goal off, Wright will be looking to build on his 8 goals and 20 assists from last season.
 Completing the announced players so far is 20year old defenceman Alex Staples. Staples was last season’s Most Improve Player and there were not many people who argued against him getting the award. Staples was one of the young heroes in the unbeaten season in 2008-09 and rightly kept his spot on the roster last year and grew into being an excellent defenceman. His development is expected to continue into the new season, all being well.
  So that’s the state of play so far for the Chieftains with 1 goalie, 3-4 defencemen and 5 forwards at least still to sign. On paper, and obviously it’s too early to tell too much, but the side is shaping up to be real contenders for silverware.
Contact the author Pete.Lewis@Prohockeynews.com